Massive mountains discovered under Earth's crust

Scientists have discovered massive mountains in the Earth's mantle, an advance that may change our understanding of how the planet was formed.

Most school children learn that the Earth has three layers: a crust, mantle and core, which is subdivided into an inner and outer core.

While that is not wrong, it does leave out several other layers that scientists have identified within the Earth.

In a study published in the journal Science, scientists used data from an enormous earthquake in Bolivia to find mountains and other topography on a layer located 660 kilometers straight down, which separates the upper and lower mantle.

Lacking a formal name for this layer, the researchers simply call it "the 660-km boundary."